Bratislava Day 1

As I wrote in my last post, I keep a mental list of places that I’ve never visited despite their proximity to Prague. Until the end of this year, this list somehow included Bratislava, the capital of our sister nation, the coronation city of Hungarian kings, and the first foreign destination of all Czech presidents.

My opportunity to visit Bratislava arrived on December 29th, as I was calling on a friend in Brno and needed to bridge this escapade with plans to visit the Vienna State Opera with my dad on the 31st. Arriving at the train station just in time for the 14:22 train, I hopped into a random carriage while frantically purchasing the ticket on my phone. I succeeded, and my ride was spiced up by a conversation with my fellow passengers: a hobbyist mandala painter and two American students who had spent five years learning Slovak.

With daylight dwindling, I made a mad dash through the most important sights of Bratislava. Coming from the train station, I stopped by the Presidential Palace before entering the pedestrianised old town through Michael’s Gate. The streetlamps turned on at that precise moment. I walked a little further into the old town before turning east and, trying to outrun the rapidly descending night, ended up at the Blue Church. This art nouveau gem, dedicated to Elisabeth of Hungary, is renowned not only for its unusual colour, but also for its gingerbread-house-like showiness. It was completed just before the First World War.

I spent the rest of the evening walking around at a more leisurely pace, having resigned myself to seeing everything in the stark light of reflectors. I tried to visit Saint Martin’s Cathedral, but it was closed for minor renovations. Before returning to my hotel, I bought some street-style halušky, a traditional Slovak dish not dissimilar to the Austrian classic Käsespätzle.   

A cheese-dispenser near the Bratislava train station
Buildings along Štefánikova
The Presidential Palace
The entrance to the Presidential Palace
The Presidential Palace behind the Planet of Peace Fountain
The Parish Church of Saint John of Matha
Michael's Gate
Michael's Gate again
The Old Town Hall
The Town Hall courtyard
The same
The Primate's Palace
Bratislava Castle
Bratislava Castle above the Danube
The UFO Tower atop the Bridge of the Slovak National Uprising
A Christmas tree in the Primate's Palace
The Fountain of Saint George in the courtyard of the Primate's Palace
More statues in an adjacent courtyard
"Čumil" - the Ogler
A statue of Archangel Raphael in the Parish Church of Saint John of Matha
The Pulpit in the church
The interior of the Parish Church of Saint John of Matha

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